49ers say uncalled 4th-quarter fumble was crucial

Kyle Williams‘ two punt-return fumbles might not have been the only mistakes that cost the 49ers in their 20-17 overtime loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship Game.

San Francisco believes a late-game mistake by the officiating crew also contributed to the defeat.

On the final play before the two-minute warning, New York running back Ahmad Bradshaw appeared to fumble at the end of a 6-yard screen pass at the Giants’ 21-yard line. San Francisco recovered the fumble, caused by linebacker NaVorro Bowman, but the officials ruled Bradshaw’s forward progress had been stopped, nullifying the fumble.

Plays ruled dead because of forward progress are not subject to replay reviews.

“It looked like a fumble,” 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Every play that happened in the game except that one was played out to the conclusion of the play.”

With the score 17-17, the 49ers would have taken possession at the 21 with about 2:20 left. New York had two timeouts.

“They say it was forward progress and stopped; therefore it is not a fumble,” linebacker Patrick Willis said. “That’s what we have to live with.”

Mr. Touchdown: Long before Sunday’s game slipped away, Vernon Davis put himself in position to be the main man. Again.

Eight days after his memorable game-winning touchdown catch against the Saints, Davis caught two more TD passes from Alex Smith. The first covered 73 yards and gave the 49ers an early 7-0 lead. The second went for 28 yards and pushed the 49ers ahead 14-10 in the third quarter.

Davis finished with three catches for 112 yards and became the fifth player in the Super Bowl era to collect at least two receiving touchdowns in consecutive playoff games.

“Very upset,” Davis said of his feelings afterward. “To me, we’re definitely a Super Bowl team. … I feel like we left everything on the table. We played as hard as we possibly could. I’m proud of those guys because they worked their tails off out there tonight.”

Walker returns: Tight end Delanie Walker, out since sustaining a broken jaw Dec. 24 at Seattle, returned to action Sunday. He shouldered a surprisingly heavy load for a player whose availability twisted in doubt during the week.

“They told me I was going to play a lot if I could handle it,” Walker said. “We started the game with some run plays and I told them I was capable of handling it all, so that’s what we did.”

Walker caught two passes for 36 yards, including a 29-yarder on the last play of regulation.

Crabtree unhappy: After his one-catch, 3-yard performance, wide receiver Michael Crabtree indicated he wasn’t given a chance to be more of a factor in the game.

Smith targeted Crabtree on five passes.

“Sometimes you’ve just got to move the ball, man,” Crabtree said. “You’ve got to make plays. You’ve got to give people a chance to make plays.”

Asked if wind was a factor in the passing game, Crabtree shook his head.

“The other side of the ball was catching the ball,” he said. “We could throw.”